Recommend me

[Pineneedlesincarpet]

I've noticed this happens a lot on MN. "Recommend me" a bag for example. Where are the missing words? Where have they gone? Or am I being old fashioned? I can no longer tell what is right or wrong any more!

What missing words are looking for? Do you want it to be more polite? Like 'Can you please recommend a bag for me?'

It's perfectly correct. Just like 'tell me a story'. In the sentence 'Recommend me a bag', the bag is the direct object and 'me' (which can be both a direct object and an indirect object pronoun) is an indirect object pronoun here, indicating 'to' me.

Recommend to me, surely. Or please recommend a bag. Not recommend me a bag.

Is it because it sounds like a command as opposed to a request @Pineneedlesincarpet ? It might come across as quite abrupt if there's not much context in the post.

It's one of those evolved forms of language - like the way 'invite' is now both a verb and a noun.

I used to hate 'I've given her an invite'... you've given her an invitation surely?!

You can invite her, but you can't give her an invite!

But the sands of time have determined that you can indeed give people invites now. So I have reluctantly come to terms with it (although I will NEVER use it!)

I would never use that expression either. I don't like it and I don't like "recommend me". Maybe I'm just getting old.

Let's ask chatgpt.

Chatgpt says recommend me is not grammatically correct as it needs a "to" in the sentence. As suspected. And that I am "orbiting the right planet". (May need to change the settings on this for the cheery American guy to be a little less informal in his replies....🧐)

Perfect explanation.

e.g. Pass me the gin, please. Pass (to) me the gin, please.

ChatGPT is a well-known pleasing enforcer. You ask a prompt that you want it to respond to positively and it will!

I personally have no issue with a splint infinitive anymore but used to.

Might make a difference that I make my living by writing mainly.

Yes that is true. And Chatgpt is also apologetic when he gets things wrong but never seems to learn from my wisdom when I kindly correct him.

No it's not correct. It should be recommend a bag to me. The statement "recommend me" means you want the person to give a recommendation about you.

I mean the utter irony of AI not learning when that is its whole purpose! Might get a bit meta if you have to keep asking: "When will you learn, when will you LEARN?!"

Pass the gin to me. Good

Recommend a bag to me. Good

Recommend me. Bad. Unless you are the person that is being recommended, surely?

Do they pay a vast amount for that one word?

Oh my god, yes! I'm with you, OP. I've noticed it more and more on here.

Well yes - on its own, 'recommend me' would mean that. But in the sentence 'Recommend me a bag', the bag is the direct object and the 'me' is the indirect object. What about the example 'tell me a story'? Are you saying that's wrong too?

Recommend a bag to me, or recommend me a bag. Tell a story to me or tell me a story. Give a present to me or give me a present. Nobody would ever say 'Give to me a present' or 'Recommend to me a bag'! I'm a languages teacher, just in case that lends any weight to my argument.

You’re replacing ‘recommend’ with non-equivalent verbs, suggesting that if ‘give me a bag’ is correct, then ‘recommend me a bag’ also is. But if you replace it with a synonym, it sounds equally clumsy.

Suggest me a bag.
Propose me a bag.

I think, though, that this is an acceptable evolution of language. Evolutions that simplify language without compromising meaning are a good thing, eg English losing grammatical gender.

In any case, English is a wonderfully inconsistent language:

Got/gotten - NOOOO!
But forgot/forgotten - fine.

Write me - NOOOO!
But phone me - fine.

It’s a problem of direct and indirect object.
Recommend (verb) a bag (direct object) to me (indirect object).
1…..2….3.

If 2 & 3 invert the “to” is lost.
Recommend me a bag.
1…..3….2.

Try it with these verbs:
give, send, pass, hand.
and lots of reported speech verbs
tell, ask, advise, etc.

It doesn't lend any weight to to your point. If anything, it's worse.

Give is a ditransitive verb so takes both a direct (bag) and indirect (me) object. Recommend is a monotransitive verb and takes only one direct object (bag) which is why you need the prepositional phrase "to me" rather than the indirect object (me).

I've never heard anyone say "recommend me a whatever" in real life but it seems to be rife on MN

Except recommend only takes a direct object so you need the preposition for it to make sense.

Gotten is correct in both hiberno and American English. British English has abandoned its use. As used in Hiberno English there is a distinction in meaning between "I got" and "I've gotten/ I had gotten"

Yes, both of the examples I chose are Americanisms frowned upon by British English pedants, one even a usage abandoned in British English (so not technically wrong).

See also:

I initiated. Initiated what (yes, we all know you mean sex!).

I asked them if they wanted to join. Join what/who?

I offered him to...... No, just no.

I don't like "do you want to join?" As in, do you want to join us. Far too casual.

But it's fine if you were discussing a club and someone asks if you wanted to join.

But it's fine if you were discussing a club and someone asks if you wanted to join

I don't have a problem with that, but on MN it is usually "I am arranging a holiday/meal/night out and asked my SIL if she wanted to join"

Join us - fine
Join in - fine (ish)

I'm going to have to stop now as the word "join" is starting to look really weird the more times I type it!!!

I came here to start a thread on this.

I am seeing it more and more on here and it really rubs me up the wrong way. It looks so wrong and for me is up there with noone (IT IS TWO WORDS - No one) and draws when they mean drawers.